Citation
(2005), "New report shows no significant cost premium for building green", International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, Vol. 6 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijshe.2005.24906bab.003
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2005, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
New report shows no significant cost premium for building green
A new report offers evidence that if there is any premium associated with building green, it is far less significant than a range of other factors that affect building cost. The paper, “Costing Green: A Comprehensive Cost Database and Budgeting Methodology”, by Lisa Fay Matthiessen and Peter Morris of Davis Langdon Adamson (DLA), draws on DLA's extensive database of cost information for both LEED and non-LEED projects. DLA specializes in cost estimating and cost management in construction. In addition to looking at the cost implications of pursuing each LEED point, the authors provide a macro-level analysis of the cost of green projects. Focusing on libraries, classrooms and laboratories, they compare the cost per square foot of 45 LEED-seeking projects with 93 that are not pursuing LEED certification. They found “no statistically significant difference between the LEED population and the non-LEED population”. Matthiessen and Morris conclude that other factors affect cost so much that any possible green premium is, in effect, lost in the “noise” in relation to average cost per square foot.
Download the report in PDF format from www.dladamson.com/publications.html